Caretaker for a Day
by Lady Kasai
Summary: Oh no! Rufus Shinra has a cold! What will Nurse Reno do to make him feel better? Short and sweet, rating's for the second chapter. Shounen-ai.
1. Default Chapter

Obligatory Blurb: Wow... I haven't posted anything in a while. Takin' a break from That'll Do, Son, because I think I had just a little bit of DBZ overload, so I attached myself to Final Fantasy 7 for a bit. ^_^  
  
No true warnings (not even a swear word...gasp), unless you consider Reno singing, bathing a child, and then filling him full of sugar before conking out on the couch offensive. ^^  
  
The song Reno sings is I Believe In a Thing Called Love by The Darkness. Normally I wouldn't pick such a popular song, but I can just SEE Reno howling out the notes like that. Can't you? ^^  
  
Pick an age over 21 and under 30 for Reno in this one.  
  
~  
  
"Why do I have to do it?" Reno crossed his arms and glared at President Shinra. "He's already twelve years old and going to be vice president... He should be able to take care of himse—"  
  
"Reno. Yes, he will be the vice president sooner than we think, but he is still just twelve years old. He's also all alone in that enormous room of his, completely miserable, and I'm afraid that I don't have time to go and take care of him, much as I'd like to. Tseng and Rude are away doing an assignment today, as you well know, and I'm not sure that I trust Elena with my only son just yet. That leaves you."  
  
Reno sighed and looked at the door, defeated. "Fine. I'll do it."  
  
"Good." The president smiled. "I'll make sure to treat you for it."  
  
~  
  
That was how Reno found himself in front of Rufus Shinra's door, hesitant to knock. In all truth and reality, he didn't mind taking care of the kid one bit; in fact, he rather enjoyed the company, but it was also his duty to be the designated pain-in-the-butt of President Shinra, and he did all jobs thoroughly and with pride. The Turk rapped his knuckles on the door three times and waited.  
  
Nothing happened. He had half-expected it, and so he just manually opened the door and shut it quietly behind him. It was dead quiet in Rufus' quarters, something that immediately told Reno that the preteen was not his usual self. He cocked his head and listened hard for anything that might tune him in as to where Rufus was, but he received no clue. This cued his feet to begin walking around the spacious quarters and his eyes to start looking.  
  
He had finally found Rufus curled up on a brand new, white leather couch. The kid was wrapped in a think blanket and surrounded by used Kleenexes, sniffling futilely. Reno frowned at the sight and actually began to feel bad for him before kneeling down in front of the sickly boy and ruffling his hair a bit. "Hey kid... You awake?"  
  
Rufus peeked out from under the blanket he had burrowed into and blinked at his visitor. His eyes and face were red and puffy and the edges of his nose were rubbed absolutely raw. He opened his mouth to speak, and although his lips formed the words, nothing came out. He frowned deeply and looked at Reno in a desperate attempt to communicate. The red-haired man chuckled.  
  
"'S okay, buddy... Don't try and speak if it hurts too much. Daddykins had to work out of town today, so he sent me to play nursey until he can come back. Where all does it hurt?"  
  
Rufus pushed himself into a sitting position and swayed lightly for a moment, then pointed to the middle of his chest, his throat, and waved a hand in front of his face. He also pointed directly at both ears.  
  
"God, you look like how I feel the day after company parties..." Rufus smiled and tried to laugh, only making it to very hoarse cough. Reno winced and shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. Think you can swallow a little bit? I can fix you something to drink."  
  
Rufus nodded and got up to follow Reno into the kitchen. He was clad only in a pair of blue briefs and a pair of socks, and the spunky Turk could see that his entire body was shining with a layer of sweat. He rummaged through a few cupboards for a moment before he found the right one, picked out a plain coffee mug, and set it on the counter. He brewed some tea, poured it into the cup, and then picked a small, sleek bottle out of his own blazer pocket. He poured a very small amount of a brownish liquid into Rufus' tea, stirred, and set the concoction in front of the blond. "There. Don't try and finish it all in one go, 'cause it'll probably put you flat on your back in seconds, and although that'd probably be best for you, I don't think your father would appreciate it much."  
  
Rufus took a small sip and smacked his lips at the unfamiliar taste, decided he liked it, and took another small sip. A curious smile curved his mouth and his eyes darted back to Reno.  
  
"Whiskey and lemon tea. Sounds kinda gross, I know, but it's what the guys always gave me back when I was still a punk like you. You'd be surprised how well it works."  
  
Rufus grinned and set the cup back onto the counter and coughed lightly some more, clutching at his throat when he was finished. Reno frowned at the way he looked. "You know, a bath might make you feel a little better. Tseng always told me that it cleared congestion or whatever. Wanna give it a go?"  
  
Rufus shrugged and nodded. He pointed down the hall to the bathroom, even though Reno had used it many times before, and went to go get some towels. The older of the two forewent the bathroom first, however, and retrieved a small bundle from Rufus' dresser drawer. He then met the boy in the bathroom and tossed it to him, not looking to catch the look of confusion on the preteen's face. He began to run water, cooler than usual, and only looked up at the creepy, croaking noise that was forming words.  
  
"Swimming trunks?"  
  
Reno shrugged and looked a bit uncomfortable for a second. "I don't know, I'm not real big on the rules about other peoples' kids and bein' naked and stuff... So just change into 'em.  
  
Rufus shook his head and grinned, and Reno turned his back once again so that the kid could change in privacy. He waited until the too-large tub was about halfway filled, and then motioned Rufus to sit in it. When he did, Reno took off his blazer, tie, and shirt, and tossed them over to land in a sprawl on the floor. Rufus had dunked his head under the water already, relieving Reno the task of wetting his hair, so the red-haired man went straight for the shampoo.  
  
The bottle was cool and slick in his hands, and he flipped it around to read the label. "Juicy Green Apple with apple extract and vitamin E." He shrugged. "Sounds good to me." A generous blob of the translucent green soap found a home on Rufus' head before a mischievous smile spread across the makeshift caretaker's face. His fingers twitched and Rufus leaned back, expecting nothing. It was almost too perfect.  
  
"Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel," Reno attacked Rufus' head with his hands, rubbing exaggeratedly on each syllable of the song that he began to sing out of tune, "my heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel..."  
  
"Ack! Reno!!" Rufus squirmed and tried to get out of the playful hands of his new "nurse", but it was to no avail. He laughed (which caused him to cough, but it hurt a little less this time) and pulled forward again, but the fingers through his hair scrubbed and washed with even more enthusiasm than before, matching the voice of their owner. "You're terrible! Stop!"  
  
"Touching you," Reno stopped his assault on Rufus' poor hair and grabbed him in a bear hug from behind and swayed to the left as he howled out the notes, "touching me," he switched sides and swayed in the opposite direction, then returned to scrubbing even more enthusiastically than before, if it was possible, "touching you, yeah, you're touching me!"  
  
Rufus couldn't stop giggling at the ridiculous voice that Reno was singing in. The good mood was as contagious as his cold, and so he decided to play his own little trick on Reno. He took a handful of water, turned suddenly, and splashed Reno in the face, catching him right in the middle of the chorus of the song. He stopped singing and splashed back, grinning like a fool. "Aw, come on, is my singing really that awful?"  
  
Rufus splashed him harder this time, soaking him down to his navel. He shook his head and sighed dramatically. "And here I thought you liked me... Come on, let's rinse that out of your hair and get you dressed."  
  
Rufus dunked his head back under the water, running his fingers through his hair a few times to shake the foamy lather from his blond tresses. When he surfaced and exited the bathtub, he was immediately shrouded in an enormous white towel. There was pressure on his head after a moment, and the hands that had given his hair the best washing that it had ever had were now doing their darnedest to remove all of the moisture that had ever accumulated there in his entire life. He laughed again, wincing at the scratchiness in his throat, and threw his arms over his head, knocking the towel into the torso of the man in front of him. "Reno!!"  
  
The Turk merely smiled and shrugged innocently. "Just doing my job, sir." He dried himself off with the corners of the towel and then threw it into the laundry basket. "How about you go into that cozy little bedroom of yours and get changed, and I'll fix us something to eat?"  
  
Rufus nodded and grabbed a smaller, thinner towel before walking out of the bathroom and across the hall to his room. Reno smiled and pulled the plug on the tub, grabbed his clothes, and strolled back out to the kitchen. He wasn't sure if the bath had really helped the ache in Rufus' throat, and from the way the kid sounded like he was the living dead each time that he talked, the Turk decided that the less chewing that had to go on, the better.  
  
The refrigerator blinked its light on in greeting as he opened the door and frowned at the contents. There were a few containers of various salad fixings, a bag of leftovers from the Chinese restaurant twelve floors down, a carton of milk, some assorted fruit, and a box of baking soda. He closed the door distastefully and opened the freezer door instead, meeting the image of a box of frozen vegetable pizzas and a bag of frozen peas. He shut that door, too, and met the gaze of young Rufus Shinra, now dressed in a pair of flannel pants and an old black t-shirt that Reno could remember having left there a week and a half ago after a meeting. Rufus was staring at him with open curiosity, and he blinked a few times, trying to find the right words. "You have got to have the weirdest assortment of food I have ever seen."  
  
Rufus shrugged and sat down on a stool next to the island in his kitchen. "Whatever's in there is from my dad," he rested his head in his cupped hands, elbows propped against the side of the counter, "he thinks I really like all that stuff."  
  
"Do you?"  
  
The blond boy shrugged. "Not really."  
  
Reno tapped a few fingers against his lips in thought. His eyes followed Rufus' motions as the preteen sipped at the tea from earlier. "I don't know what to tell you, kid. The stuff in here all looks like it could be pretty rough on that throat of yours, not to mention terribly boring and tasteless." He tried to remember back to when he was twelve years old, what kind of stuff he liked and didn't like, and what he had tried to get away with. It suddenly came to him, and he snapped his fingers. "I got it. Come on, kid, we're going to my place for a little grocery shopping."  
  
Rufus frowned in confusion. "Should I go change?"  
  
"Nah, just go like that. If anybody gets snobby, tell them that you're exercising your right to wear pajamas." Reno winked at the now-grinning preteen and threw his shirt back on, buttoning his usual 6 buttons, but neglected to put on his jacket or tie. He then tossed a pair of open-toed sandals to Rufus from their place beside the doorframe, and led him out the door with an arm around his shoulders.  
  
They rode the elevator down to the very bottom floor, which was quite a boring task in itself, and so every time somebody got on during their ride, they would have a bit of fun. However, when it got so far as to Reno having an argument with the supposed voices in his head, they ran out of people to disturb, as everybody got off on the next floor. They rode the rest of the way in silence, getting their kicks by mock-fighting each other and Reno doing poor imitations of Rufus sneezing.  
  
When they stepped off, the secretaries recognized both of them and adopted questioning stares, but didn't say anything. Reno led Rufus right out the door and straight into one of the always-present cars outside of the enormous tower. It wasn't a limo, but Reno didn't really care, either, and hopped into the driver's seat after getting Rufus situated. The car purred to life when he turned the key, and they were off.  
  
The ride was smooth and uneventful, though Rufus had punched Reno on the shoulder for singing along to the radio once or twice. When they got to Reno's apartment, a small building that you really wouldn't notice unless you were supposed to, they stepped out of the car and stretched their legs. Reno locked the car and stepped up to the front door, already knowing that Rufus was right behind him, shoved the key into the lock, pulled on the handle at the sudden beep, and motioned the young future vice president through the door. He followed and directed the young blond down a few hallways, coming to a stop in front of a room with a non-distinct 27 painted on the front.  
  
"This is where you live?"  
  
"Yeah. It's nothin' special, I know, and I really could do better, but once you call a place home for so long, I guess it kinda grows on ya. In you get, we don't wanna stay out here for too long."  
  
Rufus walked through the now-open doorway, his sandals making no noise on the plush living room carpet. His eyes were wild with curiosity, and he suddenly didn't want to leave until he uncovered every last detail of the comfy-looking dwelling. He turned to Reno, who was rummaging through his own refrigerator this time, picking out random items and setting them on the counter. "I like it."  
  
Reno kicked the refrigerator door closed with his foot, as both of his hands were full with various items. The smile on his face eased Rufus' shyness. "Thanks. We can stay here for a while, if you want. It's a little cozier than your room...no offense."  
  
Rufus wasn't offended in the least, but still didn't say anything. Instead, he grabbed up some of the goodies from Reno's table and helped the man carry them through the kitchen and back into the living room, where they set everything on the coffee table in front of the couch. As Reno was organizing the foods and grabbing plates and utensils, Rufus took the opportunity to look around.  
  
The couch was covered in a soft black material from top to bottom, but a sickening military green peeked out in spots where the black had frayed and worn away. It looked plush and comfortable, so Rufus simply plopped down onto it. He didn't expect to sink straight down into the cushion, though, and squeaked out his surprise. His sinuses were feeling a lot better after the bath, but that also meant that his nose decided to run a marathon, and he looked up at the man darting around the kitchen. "Reno," he croaked out, feeling pathetic, "do you have any Kleenexes?"  
  
"Nope, but there's a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom that you can use. Garbage can should be right to the left of where you're sitting." He brought in a few bowls, spoons, plates, and forks, and set them with the food on the table.  
  
Rufus went to go get the toilet paper, and Reno couldn't help but chuckle at the site of him. His hair was a mess, still damp and fluffy from his bath, sticking out in all kinds of directions. The t-shirt was far too big for him and drooped over one shoulder, the sleeves going down to his elbows and the bottom hem down to his knees. The pants nearly fit him, with only the bottoms falling under his heels when he walked. He hadn't noticed when Rufus had taken off his sandals, but it didn't really matter. Although he wore his uniform like a drunk from the slums, his apartment quarters were always immaculate, and he didn't really have to worry about anything on the floor to step on.  
  
The foods he had picked weren't the healthiest in the world, but he already knew that they would put a smile on Rufus' face. Vanilla ice cream, some various flavors of pudding, chicken soup with alphabet noodles, a half- eaten rum cake, and a pitcher of iced tea. There was water on the stove for hot chocolate, and milk in the fridge for coffee, should the craving strike. He added glasses to the array of dishes, and nodded in satisfaction.  
  
Rufus walked back out into the living room clutching his roll of toilet paper like he would a baby, sniffling and wiping at his nose with a piece of the white tissue. He discarded the used piece in the aforementioned garbage can and sniffed once more before sitting down on the couch (gently, this time, as he was fearful that the couch may very well just swallow him whole should he sink too far). He had never had half of the foods that Reno had picked, his father controlling his diet almost compulsively, and he found himself excited at the prospect that not only was he going to break the rules and pig out on junk food, but he was going to go behind his father's back while doing it.  
  
He should really get sick more often, if it meant spending more days like this with Reno.  
  
He reached forward for a bowl that the Turk had just filled with a few scoops of ice cream, grabbed a spoon, and dug in. The chilled desert shocked his mouth for a moment, and he rolled the creamy concoction around on his tongue before swallowing. It made his throat feel a thousand times better, bringing a wide smile to his face, and he finished off the bowl in record time. However, his joy was soon thwarted, as a painful pounding resided near his temples. He whimpered and clutched at them, and then a few slim fingers found their way into his hair and rubbed gently.  
  
"That, my friend, is what you call a brain freeze. Comes from eating really cold foods too fast. Don't worry, though, it'll pass in a few seconds."  
  
He waited, enjoying the massage on his scalp for a few moments, and as predicted, the headache vanished as quickly as it had come.  
  
"Here, try the soup."  
  
He did, and it, too, made his throat feel just that much better. He hadn't realized how hungry he really was until the food had touched his taste buds, but now that the feeling did hit him, he took everything that Reno put in front of him. They pigged out in front of the television, watching a random soap opera that the red-haired Turk would mock every once in a while, and finally, when their hunger was sated and the soap opera ended, they sat back into the couch cushions and sighed in content.  
  
Rufus blew his nose for what had to have been the billionth time that day and frowned when he got snot all over his chin. Another length of toilet paper took care of it, though he still shivered in disgust at the amount of mucous he was producing. Reno was leaning back onto the armrest with his eyes closed, looking more at peace than Rufus had seen him in a long time, but the sight was partially blocked from his view as his eyelids drooped to half-mast. He wiped his fingers on his pants a few times to rid them of their stickiness, wrapped his arms around Reno's waist, and laid his head on the man's shoulder, fully prepared to use him as a human pillow. The slight jump of shock from Reno's body had made him smile, but it was already fading from his face in lieu of sleep.  
  
Reno grinned when he realized that he, too, had already been dozing off, and looked down at the small body now attached to his chest. If he was tired, Rufus had to be exhausted. He kicked his legs up onto the couch, lying back so that his head was pillowed by the armrest he had been leaning against, and then shut off the TV.  
  
Once again, he raised a hand to Rufus' head and began to pet the crown of golden down. He didn't really have a fetish for great hair or anything, but he always liked it when people played with his hair, so he liked to do it to other people in case they felt the same way. The empty whooping noises that sounded out quietly every time Rufus breathed hit one side of his chest softly, warming one spot every few seconds. It was all far too comfortable for him to stay awake, and so with his fingers still entangled in the boy's hair, he surrendered to the call of sleep as well. 


	2. Roles Reversed

Obligatory Blurb Again: ...The Sequel!! ::cackles:: This one, like I said, has slight shounen-ai in it. ^^ Wewt for R/R!  
  
Also, many kudos to Ali for keeping me (in)sane during this.. XD Boy scouts!  
  
~  
  
Reno felt like he was dying.  
  
His head was buried in between two mammoth pillows, but the matching comforter that normally brushed his chin as he slept had been kicked to the floor hours ago. Even though he was dressed only in a pair of thin, silky boxers, his body felt like it was submersed in lava. He groaned and reached up to his forehead, feeling for a fever, and stuck his tongue out at the sweat smeared across his palm.  
  
He couldn't breathe through his nose at all, his chest was making wheezy noises, his eyes were watering, and he couldn't seem to hear anything at all, even as he groaned again, louder this time, and rolled over to hug his pillow to his chest. He hadn't been this sick in years, not since he had first joined the Turks and gotten all of his vaccinations at one time, and in the years of his good health, he had forgotten what being truly sick felt like.  
  
However, the only thought that seemed to truly stick in his mind was, "Tseng is going to kill me for missing work today."  
  
His voice was a rough croak, and he blinked at his surroundings, momentarily bewildered by the unusual tone. He looked onto the side table at the clock, and, seeing that it read 6:24, decided that although it was the busiest day of the year, he still had time to call off work. He'd be damned if he was going to show up half dead.  
  
His sweaty fingers dialed the numbers on the phone, the glowing numbers of the handset swimming together a few times and making it difficult for him to decipher them, and then he waited through the two rings that it took for Tseng to answer his cell phone. "Speak."  
  
"Tseng?"  
  
"Reno? Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah... listen, I know you really needed me to work today, but—"  
  
"You sound like shit. Don't come today."  
  
There was a click, then silence. Reno blinked down at his phone, briefly wondering how his sentences always managed to be cut off, and then he dropped it back into its charger, not caring about it any more than that. His throat was on fire from the little that he had said, and if he could only get up and make it into the kitchen, he could remedy his throat AND his headache in one go.  
  
It was getting there that was the hard part.  
  
He sat up in his bed and buried his face in his hands when dizziness overtook his body. It subsided soon enough, allowing for him to get up, but he waited a bit longer and just sat there on his bed, enjoying the lack of stimulation from the darkness of his bedroom. His feet decided that it was time to fix his head, however, and soon enough, he found himself strolling towards the kitchen, groping the walls of the hallway to ensure that he didn't bump into anything. There was a digital clock on his microwave that emitted a gentle blue glow, and it was the only thing in the whole room to welcome him.  
  
Reno knew his kitchen like he knew his own body, and didn't even have to open his eyes to find the cupboard with the aspirin in it. His hands shook four from the bottle and he swallowed them dry, quickly realizing his mistake when they caught in the inferno inside of his voice box. He flailed wildly for a glass two cupboards over, filled it with lukewarm water, and downed the entire glass.  
  
His throat still felt like hell, but at least his headache would go away soon.  
  
Next stop: Ice cream. He turned around and tripped over the small island that took up the middle of the floor space, recovered, and grabbed the door handle to the freezer with a vengeance. The red-haired Turk finally opened his eyes to look inside, and found that, to his great dismay, he had absolutely no ice cream whatsoever.  
  
Nor any Popsicles, or any other frozen treats that he may have been able to fix himself up with.  
  
His face drooped in an almost comic display of tragedy, and he flung open the refrigerator door instead. There to greet him were leftovers from the night before, a carton of inedible eggs, a tub of soft butter, some doughnuts, a loaf of bread, and every condiment you could ever possibly want to use. Reno shut the refrigerator door, leaned against it heavily, and sighed. He supposed that's what he got when he went on long assignments away from home.  
  
"It's not my day, it's not my day, it's not my day..." He continued his mantra over to where he flopped down onto his couch. Tseng will have already told Rufus of his absence, and Reno wasn't sure what the blonde would think of it. He knew that the vice president would more than likely not mind, but he still felt bad for not being there on the anniversary of his inheritance of the corporation.  
  
With a brief smile, he lay across the dying couch in a lazy sprawl and wondered if he would be missed. Each year, to celebrate, President Shinra held a gargantuan party. There was singing and dancing, and there was live entertainment... Reno held up a hand in front of him to count the number of times that he had gotten into (and won, his ego smirked) drinking contests with various employees. When he ran out of fingers on the suspended hand, instead of continuing on with his other hand (and both feet), he simply dropped it back down to his chest, tired from the movement.  
  
Pathetic, he thought. Absolutely pathetic that I'm too week to even hold my hands up for long. He closed his eyes and breathed through his mouth a few times, feeling like a dog panting in the middle of summer, and then his right hand flew to the gun under the couch. In one solid, practiced moment, he pointed it upward next to his right ear, jamming it up into the chin of the owner of the hands draped lazily around his neck and resting on his collarbones.  
  
However, instead of the startled and violent reaction that he had expected, the fingers on one of the new hands simply reached up, closed around the gun barrel, pulled it out of his hand (his jaw dropped, and he finally realized how weak he truly was), and put it back under the couch. "You really are a Turk at heart, aren't you, Reno?"  
  
The voice was snow-kissed satin on a moonlight night, caressing his ears in a way that only one voice could. He tilted his head back, ignoring the painful grating sensation that it put on his throat, and met the delicate, malachite gaze of his vice president, Rufus Shinra. Shock seized his heart for a split second. "Ru—"he cut off, coughing loudly four times and swallowing the mucous that it brought up, "Rufus?"  
  
"Tseng told me that you weren't feeling well."  
  
"Yeah, that's a fucking understatement..." Initially, it didn't occur to him to ask Rufus how he had gotten there so fast, or even why he was up so early in the first place. He curled into a protective ball on the couch, shivering now, and tried not to lean into the touch on his shoulders. "You don't have to be here, you know... It's you're, like, ONE day off in the whole year... You don't have to spend it taking care of me."  
  
"I know." Rufus pushed Reno back into a sitting position, then sat behind him with Reno between his legs, and leaned the Turk back against his chest. The vice president then tipped his head forward and lay his face against the back of the other man's head, positioned perfectly so that his mouth was directly next to Reno's ear. "Reno, Reno... Do you remember a few years back when you took care of me when I was sick?"  
  
Reno shivered again, not so much from the chills racking his body but from the breath flowing over his ear, and shook his head.  
  
"I was twelve years old. You came to my room and made me tea... And then you gave me a bath." He smoothed his hands (they were always cold, always) across Reno's chest a few times and hugged him a bit closer. "And then, you kidnapped me," he smiled slightly at the thought of being kidnapped by the man in his arms, "and took me to your house to feed me sweets."  
  
"Yeah... Yeah, I remember now. At least, I remember the ass-kicking I got for doing that..."  
  
Rufus chuckled and pulled back slightly, sniffing at the restricted fire that was taking up most of his vision. "Guess who's sick now, Reno..."  
  
Reno blinked. "That's too easy, sir."  
  
Rufus grinned. "And guess who gets to take care of you, Reno..."  
  
Reno didn't say anything. His throat still felt like it was on fire, since he hadn't been able to soothe it with anything, but apparently, he didn't have to. Rufus slipped an arm around his shoulder blades and another around his thighs, lifted him easily, and carried him down the hall to the bathroom joined to his bedroom. Reno would normally have resisted, mainly because of the fact that he didn't really like being picked up at all, but he was so tired, and the strong arms around his body felt really nice right about then.  
  
The ride ended abruptly as he was placed on the toilet seat, and he smiled at the role reversal that they had gone through. Rufus was running water in the tub, and the sick Turk wondered what exactly the blond was going to do during the bath. His bathtub was considerably smaller than Rufus', and fit against the wall on three sides of it. Reno watched him lazily, wondering why exactly Rufus was stripping down to his underwear (which were still blue briefs, and the fact nearly made him fall over with laughter), but voicing no protest.  
  
Rufus paused in his actions, turned and appeared to be considering Reno for a few moments, and then pointed to the Turk's boxers. "Those come off."  
  
The redhead blinked for a moment, letting it sink in, and then spluttered. "What?"  
  
"Your boxers. You can't bathe properly if you're still wearing them."  
  
Reno looked down at his lap and sighed. He didn't have the energy to argue at all, and he HAD known Rufus since the kid was practically new to the world, so he did as he was told and removed his boxers, dropping them onto the floor in an untidy pile. The vice president nodded in satisfaction and hooked his thumbs into his own briefs (Reno actually did smile this time, but quickly wiped it off his face before he was caught), pulled them down to his ankles, and stepped out of them. They fell on top of Reno's boxers when they were kicked, and then Rufus motioned Reno to stand.  
  
The Turk wanted to say something, anything, to break the silence, but his throat hurt so badly and he couldn't think of what to say anyway. It was extremely awkward to be pampered by Rufus Shinra, as the man was notorious for having a colder heart than Sephiroth himself. Arms slid around his body once again, lifting him against a now-nude body, and he suddenly didn't really care if the world ended right there.  
  
"God, Reno, you're burning up..." Rufus carried him a short distance to the right, and there was the sound of liquid being disturbed as the blonde's feet broke the surface of the bath water. Reno knew what was coming next, and as he was lowered, he prepared himself for the extreme chill of the water. However, it never came; only a very comforting cool enveloped the front of his body, and at his back, there were muscles wrapped in silk caressing his skin. "Was I really like this when I was sick?"  
  
"No, you were cuter. And you talked more."  
  
Rufus chuckled –actually chuckled—and scooped water onto Reno's chest. There was a clear plastic cup resting on one of the corners on the bath tub, waiting to be filled with water, and the vice president grabbed it and did just that. The water went onto Reno's head, wetting his hair and soothing his fevered scalp. This caused the Turk to sigh and lean back so that his head was on Rufus' shoulder, and a sudden memory inspired the blond to return another favor, in hopes that it would at least bring Reno's famous smile back to his face.  
  
He resumed his earlier position next to Reno's ear and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of cigarettes, aftershave, and expensive liquor. He had never sung before, not to himself or to anybody else, and so he was left with an alien feeling in his stomach. It was stuck somewhere between nervousness and modesty, two things he hadn't felt since he was a small child, and he quickly smothered them angrily. Instead of fueling the odd emotions, he simply opened his mouth and began to sing, hoping that his voice would be pleasurable to the man that he held against him. "I'm not a perfect person..."  
  
Reno shivered in his arms, but did not wake.  
  
"As many things I wish I didn't do," Rufus nuzzled the ear next to his lips, and wouldn't even admit to himself the relief he felt at the fact that his singing wasn't nearly as bad as Reno's, "but I continue learning..." He grabbed for the shampoo behind him and looked at it, noting that it merely said "Normal Scent" on the front, and squeezed a small amount into the top of Reno's mane of hair. As his fingers lathered the soap, he continued with the song. "I never meant to do those things to you, and so I have to say before I go..."  
  
He dipped the cup under the bathwater and dumped it onto the top of Reno's head, taking care not to let it wash over the man's face. His free hand kept up a comforting (and also, hopefully, helpful) rubbing motion on the Turk's chest. "That I just want you to know," he looked over his shoulder and saw that there was a matching bottle of conditioner, and squeezed some of that onto the hair in front of him, "I've found a reason for me to change who I used to be..."  
  
The conditioner was smoothed to the ends of the red mop, and then expert fingers gave a gentle massage to the scalp. "A reason to start over new," he purred the words into Reno's ear as he rinsed the conditioner this time, and didn't quite realize the truth of the lyrics that rolled off his tongue until he had already sung them, "and the reason is you..."  
  
He sighed and leaned his face against the side of Reno's hair, breathing in the comforting, humane scents, and simply existing. He was happy, another foreign feeling, and he didn't want to leave. The dead weight of the body he was holding disconcerted him, however. "...Reno?" He jostled him a bit. "Reno? Are you awake?"  
  
Reno didn't answer.  
  
"I'll be damned. I'm not even a good enough singer to keep you awake. Bastard." He paused and then laughed aloud. "Oh, Reno, if you only knew how enticing you are when you sleep, even if it is my fault you're unconscious in the first place... Come on, let's get you back to bed." He hooked his arms under Reno's armpits and hoisted the man out of the water gently, so as not to wake him from his well-needed slumber. He had no free hands to grab a towel, so Rufus carried the man straight into his bedroom without drying off, and set him on a comfortable-looking chair. He then tended to the bed, remaking it and fluffing the pillows, and then finally retrieved a few towels from the bathroom cupboards.  
  
"You know, Reno, you really ought to stop beating yourself up so much." Rufus frowned at the few light bruises that mottled the wiry frame in front of him. He then rubbed the towel in small circles down said wiry frame, blushing when he got to Reno's unmentionables, and finally finished with a foot massage. His own body was still soaked, causing goose bumps to rise on his arms and legs, but he ignored them and tended to Reno first.  
  
The covers were pulled back on Reno's bed, and then Reno was placed under them. Rufus replaced the corners to the bedclothes and smoothed them, then went into the bathroom, pulled the drain on the plug, gathered up the discarded clothing, and shut off the light. Reno's underwear went into his laundry basket, and Rufus dressed himself before padding over to the other man's bedside. He smoothed back the bangs stuck to the man's forehead, and smiled once more, very softly. The words came to him much easier now that he knew that Reno was asleep. "I wish that I could take it all away, and be the one who catches all your tears..." He traced an imaginary tear path down the side of Reno's face, and his smile grew saddened, "That's why I need you to know... I've found a reason for me to change who I used to be," he leaned forward, nearly touching foreheads with his sick employee, "a reason to start over new," his lips brushed the tip of the Turk's nose so lightly that they scarcely touched at all, "and the reason is you."  
  
Rufus Shinra gave Reno of the Turks one last glance, drinking in the sight of the man snuggled under the covers so securely, and turned his back, walking out the door.  
  
When he was sure that he heard absolutely no noise whatsoever in his entire apartment, Reno opened his eyes and stared at the wall ahead of him. He lay very, very still under the comforting softness of his covers, trying desperately to hold onto the feel of Rufus' hands on his skin, and of the sound of his voice singing –singing!!—in his ear.  
  
His last coherent thoughts before he slipped into a light sleep were two very different things. One, most favorably, was the memory of the lyrics that Rufus must have picked for Reno by mistake. The tiger's purr rumbled through his mind once more as if it were really there next to him again, and the words were stored not in his mind, but in the bottom of his untouchable Turk heart, where nobody else could find it but him.  
  
The other, more comprehendible thought was that Tseng was definitely going to kill him now, hands down, and that Reno didn't really care anymore.  
  
The Turk slept with a smile on his face for the first time in a very, very long time. 


End file.
